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25 Cards in this Set

A country that is dominated politically and economically by another nation.

containment

The blocking of another nation's attempts to spread its influence - especially the efforts of the United States to block the spread of Soviet influence during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Cold War

The state of hostility, without direct military conflict, that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy, announced by President Harry S. Truman in 1947, of providing economic and military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external opponents.

Marshall Plan

The program, proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947, under which the United States supplied economic aid to European nations to help them rebuild after World War II.

Berlin airlift

A 327-day operation in which U.S. and British planes flew food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviets blockaded the city in 1948.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European countries, the United States, and Canada.

Mao Zedong

The leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) and the Nationalists. He established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Chiang Kai-shek

Also known as Jiang Jieshi, he was the leader of the Guomindang, or Nationalist Party in China. He fought to keep China from becoming communist, and to resist the Japanese during World War II. He lost control of China in 1949.

Taiwan (Formosa)

An island to the east of mainland China. Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants of his demoralized government and army fled there in May 1949.

Korean War

A conflict between North Korea and South Korea, lasting from 1950 to 1953, in which the United States, along with other UN countries, fought on the side of the South Koreans and China fought on the side of the North Koreans.

HUAC

The House Committee on Un-American Activities - a congressional committee that investigated Communist influence inside and outside the U.S. government in the years following World War II.

Hollywood Ten

Ten witnesses from the film industry who refused to cooperate with the HUAC's investigation of Communist influence in Hollywood.

blacklist

A list of about 500 actors, writers, producers, and directors who were not allowed to work on Hollywood films because of their alleged Communist connections.

McCarthyism

The making of public accusations of disloyalty without sufficient evidence, as in Senator Joseph McCarthy's campaign against alleged Communists in the 1950s.

Senator Joseph McCarthy

The most famous anti-Communist activist during the Cold War.

H-bomb

The hydrogen bomb - a thermonuclear weapon much more powerful than the atomic bomb.

brinkmanship

The practice of threatening an enemy with massive military retaliation for any aggression.

CIA

The Central Intelligence Agency - a U.S. agency created to gather secret information about foreign governments.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites.

Eisenhower Doctrine

A U.S. commitment to defend the Middle East against attack by any Communist country, announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957.

U-2 incident

The downing of a U.S. spy plane and capture of its pilot by the Soviet Union in 1960.

Alger Hiss

He was accused of spying for the Soviet Union in 1948.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964. Khrushchev was critical of Stalin's policies and attempted to reverse some of them. He is responsible for placing nuclear missiles in Cuba which resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis.